It is an absolutely beautiful day. There is bright sunshine and sunglasses are a must. The problem is that it is -29 and there is a 39 km wind blowing from the north and so it feels like -56.

I've been doing a lot of reading these days. Being at my Dad's, waiting for flights, -56 degree weather, and horrific daytime television has meant that I have made time for books.

I got Dan Harrington's "Tournament Hold 'Em: Volume One" for Christmas. It was a perfect gift because Harrington is famous for his conservative style poker and I am not the super-aggressive play garbage and bluff player. I've read Sklansky, and Brunson, but a book by "Action Dan" had to be on my reading list.

I finished the book in January and ordered Volume Two and The Workbook through Amazon.ca. I had it shipped to Iqaluit, and hoped that it would arrive quickly. I waited and waited, but it didn't arrive before my rather sudden departure in mid-February. Naturally, the book arrived a few days after I returned to Toronto.

I wasn't planning on being in Toronto for too long so I told *** to just hold onto it. She did, and we joked that the best way to get me back to Iqaluit was to put the books in the mail. When it looked more and more like we wouldn't see each other until May, we decided that she could ship them.

On the Thursday that I booked my flight, the books had still not arrived. I was leaving on Friday morning, and laughed that I was playing the Snuffalupagus with these poker books. With about 45 minutes to spare before I walked out the door on Friday, the doorbell rang and the books had arrived.

I finished Volume Two in a flash while at my Dad's house. I started The Workbook, and am now about halfway through. I have found the books to be invaluable. The Workbook, especially, is a great tool. It presents 50 hands, and you have to choose the play that you would make if you were in that situation. You play with players like Ivey, Harmon, and Hellmuth and Harrington rates your play based on your choices. What I really like about it is that the decisions that the players make aren't necessarily "the right answers" and not necessarily that which we have learned throughout the first two volumes. At the end, you tally up your score and you can evaluate your play and discover some of the situations that are your strengths and weaknesses.

When I finish that, I'll be back into The Kite Runner, which could possibly be the perfect opposite to my current read.